Manchester United’s rotten luck with injuries this season was perhaps best summed up when their own Superman, Bruno Fernandes, missed a club match through injury for the first time in his professional career on Monday night.
The Portuguese superstar is a warrior and is always eager to fight through the pain barrier - notable when he had to grit his teeth to get through an FA Cup tie at Nottingham Forest earlier this season after being kicked around days prior in a defeat against Fulham, or when he bandaged up his hand during the FA Cup semi-final against Coventry City.
His absence for the 4-0 demolition at Selhurst Park made it 63 separate cases of injury and illness to have hampered United this season, something boss Erik ten Hag continues to struggle to truly comprehend.
‘For over 10 years I am managing, I never had this experience,’ the Dutchman said recently.
‘So huge, so many injury issues, so I trust all my experience, it can happen once in 10 years. Hopefully now I have to wait another 10 to have so many injuries to deal with.’
Twenty-five senior squad members have suffered at least one injury this season, missing a combined total of more than 1,200 days. Only Andre Onana, Diogo Dalot and Alejandro Garnacho have avoided a game-preventing injury.
Also, of his 110 matches in charge, it can be argued that Ten Hag has only been able to name his best XI twice: against Wolves on the opening day and West Ham in February. Fans have been left dumbfounded while it’s led to more than one raised eyebrow behind the scenes at United.
There has been a strong feeling among some sources that spoke to Mail Sport that the intensity of Ten Hag’s training, particularly for players returning from lengthy lay-offs, has played a factor in
Read on m.allfootballapp.com